Tuesday, 30 April 2013

What I'm doing and why I'm doing it....

Mark's 2013/14 challenge for The George Oliver Foundation

12 on 12 in 12

Having had a welcome year off from challenges last year (as
Em with Tom and Gem bravely took up the mantle), I am (literally) back in the
saddle this year to raise funds for The George Oliver Foundation. If you do not know what The George Oliver Foundation is - please go to our website www.georgesfoundation.org where you can find out all about George and what we are doing to help support young people both in the UK and abroad. We are backing some more great charities this way in the memory of our son.

My fundraising idea this year is a charity bike ride from my house to
Brighton. It is a classic cycling challenge, the London to Brighton with the
famed climb of Ditchling Beacon just before collapsing into the sea.

What's that I hear? Not enough? You want MORE?

OK, I will do the ride once a month for a year. Twelve times
- April to March, through the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter.

Still not enough? Sheesh - tough crowd.

OK, I will ride from my house to the seafront in Brighton
every month for a year, each time on a different bike. The current list of
proposed bikes of which I will choose 12 is the following:

But if you
have any particular bike that you'd like to see me ride (a chopper? a rickshaw?)
let me know and we can see if we can source it.

Whilst some
of these bikes are going to be easier (racer) than others (penny farthing), I would
also like to extend an invitation out to you, my friends and supporters of the
George Oliver Foundation - do you want to ride with me? Or even ahead of me
given the bikes I am going to be riding? Would you like to do a charity ride to
Brighton?

If so,
please let me know. I am going to be riding once a month for a year - so you
have 12 opportunities to join me. I know a really nice little route - my speeds
will vary dramatically depending on what
bike I'm on, so I'm sure I will have one that will suit you. Please - come and
join me! And
if the ride down to Brighton isn't enough, I'm planning to do a couple of
"there and backs" which will be even more of a challenge!

Obviously -
this endeavour is being undertaken for The George Oliver Foundation - if you
would like to sponsor me, my justgiving page is here: JUSTGIVING or if you would like to donate in another way - please check out the charity's webpage - DONATIONS

Also, I will
blog about my experiences on this site: Hopefully it will be a combination of some good video, photos, maps, info about the different type of bikes and gps tracking of my rides and you will find it interesting!Thank you very much.